Helena
Wachhaus
Video Game Writer
and
Narrative Designer

Photo taken by SWClaytor
About Me
When I was thirteen, my plan was to follow a more “traditional” route and become a novelist. I had the dream that nearly every aspiring author has: I’d move from a few magazine publications to a book deal, which would spiral into press circuits, movie deals, and culminate with me falling love with whatever hot celebrity had been hired to star. This was, of course, the perfect plan; nothing could go wrong.
As I grew and developed my own voice, I realized that the stories I wanted to tell and the ways in which I wanted to tell them didn’t line up with that future. I gravitated towards narratives dealing with rebellion and revolution. My characters are unapologetically witty as they struggle to balance their ambitions with extreme --life threatening-- situations. Even more, my style and tone are casual, conversational, “easy to read,” all of which meant that my work didn't fall neatly into the David Foster Wallace style my creative writing teachers were looking for. When I started writing for games and screenplays, I felt excited and overjoyed by the work that I was creating. Since transitioning fully into writing for and about games, I have written and designed COYA mobile games, was the loremaster for fantasy mobile game, created an audio drama podcast called Survivors' Station, and currently write for Elder Scrolls Online.
Please enjoy looking around this website and don't be shy about reaching out to me with questions; my email is always open.
Writing Experience
December 2020 - Current
As a Senior Writer/Designer working on Elder Scrolls Online, it's my job to ensure all in game text matches the style guides and established lore. I also serve as the primary-writer for the team behind ESO's raid content: dungeons, trials, and most recently the Night Market. Over the years, I've become an expert at conveying story and character even in the heat of battle.
I wrote, produced, and directed a 10 episode audio drama that follows the hosts of a radio news show as they try to survive their winter in the apocalypse. Survivors' Station, the podcast, is available on a multitude of websites including spotify, applepodcast, overcast, etc.
May 2020- December 2020
I was one of the credited loremasters on the mobile game Arcane Showdown. I was tasked with the upkeep of narrative ideas, styles, and decisions over the course of the game's release. Additionally, I proof-read all in game text for consistency with the aforementioned aspects and wrote many troop descriptions and text.
December 2017 - July 2018
I worked as a narrative designer for an unannounced interactive fiction game. The game fell within the survival thriller genre with the player unraveling a murder mystery on top of struggling to make the correct decisions in order to stay alive in an incredibly hostile environment.
2017 - 2018
Heroes Guard: The Journal is a mobile game by Underbyte Studios that combines interactive fiction elements with a card based combat system. I wrote multiple daily quests and developed scripts for a new campaign.
2015 - 2017
I was a Staff writer for the Official SMITE Magazine creating creative, informative, and technical articles. Additionally, I assisted with the copy-editing duties for articles that spanned the spectrum from Esports Journalism to interviews and creative pieces.
Education
2015 - 2019
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Bachelor of Art's
English Literature Major and Ancient Studies Minor
2014 - 2015
Interlochen Arts Academy
Creative Writing Major
Fiction, Poetry, Non-fiction, Screenplays